Run Microsoft Active Directory (AD) as a Managed Service

Answer - C.

The AWS documentation mentions the following.

AWS Directory Service lets you run Microsoft Active Directory (AD) as a managed service.

AWS Directory Service for Microsoft Active Directory, also referred to as Microsoft AD, is powered by Windows Server 2012 R2

When you select and launch this directory type, it is created as a highly available pair of domain controllers connected to your virtual private cloud (VPC)

The domain controllers run in different Availability Zones in a region of your choice.

Host monitoring and recovery, data replication, snapshots, and software updates are automatically configured and managed for you.

For more information on the AWS Directory Service please visit the below URL:

http://docs.aws.amazon.com/directoryservice/latest/admin-guide/directory_microsoft_ad.html

The correct answer is C. AWS Directory Service.

AWS Directory Service is a managed service that allows you to connect your AWS resources with an existing on-premises Microsoft Active Directory or to set up and operate a new, standalone directory in the AWS Cloud. AWS Directory Service offers two types of directories: AD Connector and Simple AD.

AD Connector is a proxy service that enables you to connect AWS resources to an existing on-premises Microsoft Active Directory without the need for complex network configurations or synchronizing data between directories. This allows you to use your existing on-premises Active Directory identities to authenticate to AWS resources.

Simple AD is a standalone directory that is compatible with Microsoft Active Directory, but it is not a full-feature version of AD. It provides basic Active Directory features such as user accounts, group memberships, and domain-joining EC2 instances, but it does not support features such as trust relationships or Group Policy Objects.

On the other hand, AWS Directory Service for Microsoft Active Directory, also known as AWS Managed Microsoft AD, is a fully-managed, highly available Microsoft Active Directory service that is compatible with Windows Server Active Directory. It provides all the features of an on-premises Active Directory, including Group Policy, domain join, LDAP, and Kerberos, while enabling you to leverage AWS services such as Amazon EC2, Amazon RDS, and AWS Single Sign-On.

Amazon Cloud Directory is a cloud-native directory that is designed to store hierarchies of data, such as organizational charts or product catalogs, rather than user accounts and group memberships. It is not designed to run Microsoft Active Directory as a managed service.

In conclusion, while both AD Connector and Simple AD integrate with Microsoft Active Directory, only AWS Directory Service for Microsoft Active Directory provides a fully-managed, compatible Active Directory service in the AWS Cloud. Therefore, the correct answer to the question is C. AWS Directory Service.